Saul Alinsky
Saul Alinsky
Saul David Alinskywas an American community organizer and writer. He is generally considered to be the founder of modern community organizing. He is often noted for his 1971 book Rules for Radicals...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionActivist
Date of Birth30 January 1909
CountryUnited States of America
confusion people retreat
The second rule is: Never go outside the experience of your people. When an action is outside the experience of the people, the result is confusion, fear, and retreat.
angel men enemy
It is a world not of angels but of angles, where men speak of moral principles but act on power principles; a world where we are always moral and our enemies always immoral;
enemy rules-for-radicals expertise
Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy.
ongoing compromise conflict
A free and open society is an ongoing conflict, interrupted periodically by compromises.
book enemy rules-for-radicals
Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.
mean past self
A revolution without a prior reformation would collapse or become a totalitarian tyranny. A reformation means that masses of our people have reached the point of disillusionment with past ways and values. They don't know what will work but they do know that the prevailing system is self-defeating, frustrating, and hopeless. They won't act for change but won't strongly oppose those who do. The time is then ripe for revolution
long tactics drag
A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.
threat
The threat is generally more terrifying than the thing itself.
black-and-white racism community
A racially integrated community is a chronological term timed from the entrance of the first black family to the exit of the last white family.
today tomorrow crisis
You cannot meet today's crisis tomorrow.
father hero mean
The seventh rule of the ethics of means and ends is that generally success or failure is a mighty determinant of ethics. The judgment of history leans heavily on the outcome of success or failure; it spells the difference between the traitor and the patriotic hero. There can be no such thing as a successful traitor, for if one succeeds he becomes a founding father.
two our-world kind
Our world has always had two kinds of changers, the social changers and the money changers.
spiritual america arrogance
America's corporations are a spiritual slum, and their arrogance is the major threat to our future as a free society.
people illusion disillusioned
The only people who become disillusioned are people who have illusions.